


Louder than Words

by Infy



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-22
Updated: 2014-01-22
Packaged: 2018-01-09 15:19:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1147540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infy/pseuds/Infy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Engagement. Miriel mulled the word over for a second or so. They were engaged, about to be married. With this it was essentially an agreement to give him everything she was, her mind, her heart, her body. She had resigned herself to be perfectly fine with this, and she was, but... the thoughts jumbled in her head and she couldn't manage to make heads or tails of it. She let out a sigh. “Perhaps it would be best if I had time to clarify my own internal ramblings on the subject.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Louder than Words

The taguel exited the barracks first, not surprising, and Miriel observed her crouching down on all fours before bounding off like a rabbit. Fascinating, truly, how human she may seem at times. Under normal circumstances, this was the perfect time to observe the taguel in its natural habitat, but today there was something weighing heavily on her... heavy enough that the usually commonplace thought of observing for the sake of scientific inquiry never even crossed her mind.

 

Returning her attention to her book, Miriel began to tune out the world around her before the sound of a familiar voice caught her ear. “Hey, Miriel!” Vaike sounded more enthusiastic than usual, which was a feat not easily accomplished, given his demeanor. “Why'd you cut out of the party so quick? I mean, you're always into that sciencey observation mumbo-jumbo so...” Vaike trailed off, twiddling his thumbs as he sat next to her.

 

“Certainly so, that is usually the case,” Miriel muttered, shutting her book and leaning her elbows on it, resting her chin in her hands. “I'm quite unsure myself the reason why I chose to forgo observing such a feat of... whatever ritual it was we were all performing in there.” A light dust of pink faded onto her cheeks as she mulled over her next words. “I suppose I was more or less preoccupied with other matters that seemed to me to be of more import.”

 

“Never thought I'd hear you say that. And it was a party, not a ritual. Chrom thought it was time for us all to actually get a little quality time together.” Vaike raised an eyebrow, eying the ring on her finger and only noticing a bit later that she was doing the same. “You alright?”

 

“I should have presumed you would notice that something was amiss.” Miriel muttered, her eyes not leaving the ring.

 

The rest of the army gradually poured from the barracks, some laughing, most in relatively good moods, and Tharja, which Miriel assumed was explanation enough. A few of them moved closer to the two of them, and Miriel tensed. “Oy, Miriel! Vaike!” A voice called in their direction, and Miriel craned her neck to see who it was. Gregor and Severa approached them with a relatively poorly fashioned soccer ball. “Gregor and friends play game of ball-kicking, yes?” Gregor smiled widely, tossing the ball in the air and catching it. “Gregor wants scientist Miriel on team because she make with the mathematicals, yes? Kick ball with exact trajectory to land in goal!”

 

“I want Vaike on my team because he's annoying and he'd be a good distraction for the other team--” Severa sneered, her arms crossed.

 

“For the moment, I'm afraid I'll have to pass on the festivities.” Miriel interjected, glancing back at the larger man and his daughter. “I've... I'm unfortunately tied up with many spells at the moment and I have to work through them before anything can be accomplished.” Miriel attempted a reassuring smile, but she knew Vaike could tell it was a lie--her words were silent compared to the obvious meaning of her hollow tone. Fortunately, it managed to fool Gregor and Severa, and they nodded before running back to the others, shouting about who they wanted on their teams.

 

“No? Figured you'd like the chance to observe or whatever.” Vaike furrowed his brow, turning his attention back to Miriel.

 

She stood, dusting the grass off her robes. “I think some alone time for me would be best. Working out my thoughts and assumptions usually helps me through the occasions wherein my thoughts put me in an unstable state of mind.”

 

“Then Teach'll come with you, yeah?” Vaike stood as well, absentmindedly touching her arm, and Miriel stared down at his hand grazing her sleeve for a moment before withdrawing. “I mean... this engagement thing sorta means the Vaike's gotta be here for ya when ya need him.”

 

 _Engagement._ Miriel mulled the word over for a second or so. They were engaged, about to be married. With this it was essentially an agreement to give him everything she was, her mind, her heart, her body. She had resigned herself to be perfectly fine with this, and she was, but... the thoughts jumbled in her head and she couldn't manage to make heads or tails of it. She let out a sigh. “Perhaps it would be best if I had time to clarify my own internal ramblings on the subject.”

 

“Without me?”

 

“Affirmative.”

 

“Not happening.”

 

Miriel didn't respond at first--she was taken entirely aback by Vaike's assertion. He seemed as though he wasn't going to leave her side any time soon. A part of Miriel, the majority of her, was touched by this, but another part of her still was incredibly annoyed. Irrationally so.

 

“Look, babe. You're my fiancee and Ol' Vaike is seein' to it that you're happy. It's my job.” Vaike continued, feeding Miriel his most charming smile, one that wouldn't be considered as such to anyone else but her. “Let's go find somewhere to be alone, and we can talk.”

 

There was no arguing with him anyway. Without a word, only an exasperated sigh, Miriel replaced the book in her bag and turned to walk, an action that anyone else would have found offensive, but Vaike just went along with it.

 

They silently shared the walk through the wood behind the nearby temple for a good few minutes, the only sounds being the chirping of the birds and the occasional idle bit of chatter from Vaike in a vain attempt to lighten the mood. When they had finally arrived at their destination, they stood directly behind the temple the barracks tent was poised near, where only the sounds of the troops in the distance playing their game remained. The walls and wood blocked almost all access from the front. They were alone here. Miriel stood straight, her eyes glancing upward towards the top of the temple, its spire grazing the clouds themselves.

 

“My pop used to say that when you're near a temple of Naga, the gods can see right down on ya, clear as day.” Vaike murmured, standing near his fiancee and crossing his arms. Her eyes shifted, now silently observing him as he looked upwards.

 

“Do you believe it?” Miriel asked, the genuinely curious tone of her voice returning once more, the first time Vaike had heard that familiar lilt all day. It brought him a bit of comfort.

 

“What, the whole gods watching thing?”

 

“Yes. A fascinating subject of study, that,” Miriel adjusted her glasses, the tone of her voice, although still much more hollow than usual, seeming at least the slightest bit interested in what she was saying. But Vaike quickly realized that was a farce as well. Even her tone of voice said so much more than her words ever could. “I've gleaned from many articles about the subject that the sentiment is shared between many cultures. According to my sources, even the Taguel culture considers this to be holy ground. It's truly a--”

 

“Look, enough of that shit, alright?” Vaike cut her off, furrowing his brow, and the snap caught Miriel off-guard, enough that her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. He had never said anything like that to her before. She took a breath, but her expression failed to change--with a furrowed brow, she stood silently and let him continue, too taken aback for words. “Even ol' Teach can tell you don't have the slightest bit of stock in what you're saying. That ain't the Miriel I know. Hell, that ain't the Miriel I fell in love with.”

 

“I... well... t-that is to say...” She began, quite unsure of how to phrase her next few words. “I've been... preoccupied. Take no heed of--”

 

“Well, I _am_ taking heed! You ain't yourself and you ain't been yourself since I gave you that ring.”

 

There was a moment of silence, and Miriel found herself unable to look at him. She removed her glasses and rubbed them with a cloth she pulled from her robe--they were already pristine, with no smudges whatsoever... but she felt a nervous compulsion to clean them. Vaike, meanwhile, stood straight, not taking his eyes off of her. After the silence became too obvious, he attempted to gently prod her into telling him her troubles. “Miriel, babe... I hate it when you're like this. C'mon. Talk to ol' Vaike.”

 

It finally cued her to speak. “I _am_ myself, for your information, Vaike, and... and I would greatly appreciate it if you were to leave me be.” Miriel narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth. Her voice broke slightly, and Vaike inched a bit closer to her, holding her hand in his. Miriel finally glanced in his direction and took a wistful breath at the sight of his eyes staring back into hers. He wasn't planning on leaving until he got something out of her, obviously. It was the first time she had ever attempted to put her feelings into concrete vocabulary, a much more arduous task than previously anticipated. “It's just that...” She began. What would he ever want with her anyway? She loved him, of that she was certain, or at least she felt the way in which love was described to her by the multiple social mores and encyclopedia articles that she had perused to study the subject. But what did she have to offer other than the knowledge that she loved him? Sully and Stahl seemed so happy together, and Gregor and Cordelia...blast, even Panne, a woman who isn't even _human_ managed to break through Lon'qu's fear of the fairer sex to form a relatively stable marriage. And yet here _they_ were, standing behind this temple, and Miriel finally was forced to address the constant conscious fear of losing him for the simple fact that she was... Miriel. “I'm just... I'm not the woman you...” she trailed off, staring off into the distance, away from him.

 

“Not the woman I what...?”

 

“I believe that the quoted 'sacred bond' of marriage, from what I understand, is supposedly between two people who are in love, yes? In this case, the subjects are you and I.” She glanced up at him, and both were visibly unsure where the conversation was going to go. Seeing the other's insecurity only magnified the nervousness that Miriel knew both of them felt. Words were unneeded.

 

“The Vaike is followin'... so far. Kinda.” Vaike chuckled, and Miriel's lip quirked slightly.

 

“And this involves romantic nothings, surprise gifts, and genuinely every day proving through small gestures my appreciation for you....” Miriel trailed off briefly, realizing the idiocy of what she was saying. Ridiculous. “You seem to have picked up the proper routine rather well. I had never felt more loved before I met you... but I fear that I may be too inexperienced and uneducated to truly provide you the proper experience of my being betrothed to you.”

 

Vaike furrowed his brow again at those words, and all that escaped his lips was a lightly whispered “Wait... what...?” He absentmindedly reached over, brushing his fingers along the back of her hand.

 

“I worry...” Miriel began, trailing off as her eyes scanned the ring on her finger. “Well... I suppose the best way to phrase this would be to say that I worry that I... I may not be a very good wife. Or rather, not as--”

 

“I think just you bein' around is enough for me.” His words came without hesitation, and Miriel took a breath.

 

“But I...” She paused for a moment, swallowing back the lump in her throat. “Despite the fact that I would be willing to remain 'around' for as long as you would have me, I would not harbor any ill feelings towards you if you chose to call off the engagement.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and began to turn to walk away, blinking away the pressure behind her eyes. “That is all I wished to say.”

 

Vaike was taken slightly aback by that last part, but instead of leaving as instructed, he took her in a tight embrace. Miriel let out a slight gasp and opened her mouth to protest, but once Vaike started to speak to her in a voice more gentle than any she had heard from him before, she elected to remain silent, shutting her eyes and allowing her arms to wrap around him as well. “Look... I ain't an egghead or a smart guy or any a' that,” he began, holding her tightly. Miriel's eyes slid shut, and she took a deep breath, burying her head in his shoulder. “But I gotta say that ol' Teach does have a knack for knowin' when he's found something special. And Miri, you gotta be the most specialest thing I've ever found.”

 

Miriel corrected his grammar in her head but remained silent. She couldn't think of any words to say-- ever since their first date at Vaike's favorite alehouse he had always been the only one to truly leave her speechless. Such talent would be wasted on anyone who couldn't be right for him. Finally she gathered words in her head and forced them to jumble together to make at least a little bit of sense. “I... have gathered that I feel the same way for you. However...” she trailed off for a brief moment, not breaking the embrace and instead concentrating on forcing her racing heart to match the slow beat she felt in her fiance's chest, and the even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. “If... if I may, I would like to stay this way... together. Here. Just for a little while. While I collect my thoughts.”

 

Vaike simply shut his eyes and murmured, “Yeah,” not releasing his arms from around her. Her response was to gently nuzzle her face into his chest, shutting her eyes lightly as she discussed with herself the best way to go about permanently bearing her soul to him, because after all... he was right. She hadn't been herself, and she hadn't felt right since he proposed to her.

 

“Are you gettin' cold feet, or...?” Vaike murmured, planting a small kiss on the top of her head.

 

Miriel looked up, finally meeting his eyes with a quirked brow. “My boots are insulated, thank you. I fail to see what correlation the temperature of my feet have with the topic at hand--”

 

“Oh, for the love of... I mean have you been havin' like... y'know... second thoughts...?”

 

Miriel took a breath at those words. “Truthfully, no, I have not. From the qualitative and quantitative data that I have gathered, it is clear to me that my feelings for you are completely unambiguous.” She drew her arms and her body away from him slowly, and slumped back against the wall of the temple. “I am indeed in love with you. I was worried that I may perhaps not be... enough.”

 

His hands shelved themselves on her waist, pulling himself closer to her, enough that his forehead touched against hers. She couldn't help but trace the scars on his chest with her finger; whether it was out of nerves or otherwise that she did so, she couldn't ascertain. Her normally logical mind operated entirely on emotion at this point, and the idea that she didn't have any control over herself scared her a bit, but Vaike's smile even somewhat eased her fears. “Don't worry about that, Miri. You're always gonna be more than enough. There ain't no luckier guy in the world than the Vaike. You know that, right?”

 

His words increased her heart rate, and judging by the smile on his face growing wider, she gathered that her cheeks were flushed pink. No words came to her head at this point--this was one of the few times when Miriel figured words to say far less than action. And it was for this reason, and she was unsure how quickly this occurred, that she reached for him, sliding her arms around him and lightly pressing her lips against his.

 

A brief moment where Vaike failed to react, but he soon leaned into her, tightening the grip of his mouth on hers and wrapping his arms around her as well, and he backed her slightly into the wall of the temple.

 

That kiss seemed to Miriel to last for hours, even though she knew it to be only a brief few fleeting moments in which they locked lips. She was the first to pull away, albeit barely at first, the skin of her lips grazing his for a breath or so until she finally managed to speak. “F-fascinating...” she breathed, a blush snaking across her face, and Vaike's grin widened, a chuckle escaping him. “All the adrenaline coursing through my veins... incredible that simply a kiss can almost entirely interrupt blood flow to... to...”

 

Vaike's lips pursed and his brow raised, and Miriel found herself trailing off at the sight of his face. Right... no big words around him. There was a pause for a moment as she attempted to translate her thoughts. Layman was a foreign language to her. A small, demure smile came to her face and she adjusted her glasses when it finally came to her.

 

“You've given me butterflies.”

 

Vaike's arms cinched tighter around her, and his response was louder than words; he kissed her once more, not full of his confidence in an attempt to show off, not full of lust, even. It was simply a kiss thanking her for everything, for being there, and she heard every bit of it.


End file.
